Cruise missile strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan (August 1998)
|casus=bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, rapid escalation in Al-Qaeda operations. |result=Disputed |combatant1= |combatant2= Al-Qaeda Harkat-ul-Mujahideen National Islamic Front |commander1=Anthony Zinni |commander2= Osama Bin Laden |strength1=Around 10 warships and 5 submarines |strength2=Unknown |casualties1=None |casualties2= 6 killed, 1 killed |casualties3=Alleged "tens of thousands" of indirect deaths in Sudan }} The August 1998 bombings of Afghanistan and Sudan (codenamed Operation Infinite Reach by the United States) were American cruise missile strikes on terrorist bases in Afghanistan and a pharmaceutical factory in Sudan on August 20, 1998. The attack was in retaliation for the bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania which killed 224 people (including 12 Americans) and injured 5,000 others. Al-Shifa plant bombing and controversy The missiles were launched from US warships in the Red Sea. Several hit the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory, which the United States claimed was helping Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the embassy attacks, build chemical weapons. One man was killed and ten were wounded in Sudan by the strike. Then United States National Security Council advisor Richard Clarke stated that intelligence existed linking Osama bin Laden to Al-Shifa's current and past operators, namely the Iraqi nerve gas experts and the National Islamic Front in Sudan.Embassy Attacks Thwarted, U.S. Says; Official Cites Gains Against Bin Laden; Clinton Seeks $10 Billion to Fight Terrorism The government of Sudan demanded an apology from both the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations; but none has been given, since U.S. intelligence still believes the plant had ties to chemical weapons. According to testimony by William Cohen, "...the U.S. intelligence community obtained physical evidence from outside the al-Shifa facility in Sudan that supported long-standing concerns regarding its potential role in Sudanese chemical weapon efforts that could be exploited by al Qaeda."Statement of William S. Cohen (Page 9 of PDF) Officials later acknowledged, however, that "the evidence that prompted President Clinton to order the missile strike on the Shifa plant was not as solid as first portrayed." Indeed, officials later said that there was no proof that the plant had been manufacturing or storing nerve gas, as initially suspected by the Americans, or had been linked to Osama bin Laden, who was a resident of Khartoum in the 1990s."Look at the Place! Sudan Says, 'Say Sorry,' but U.S. Won't, The New York Times, 2005/10/20 The Al-Shifa factory was Sudan's primary source of pharmaceuticals, covering the majority of the Sudanese market. Werner Daum (Germany's ambassador to Sudan 1996–2000) wrote an article in which he estimated that the attack "probably led to tens of thousands of deaths" of Sudanese civilians.Universalism and the West The U.S. Bureau of Intelligence and Research wrote a report in 1999 questioning the attack on the factory, suggesting that the connection to bin Laden was not accurate; James Risen reported in the New York Times: "Now, the analysts renewed their doubts and told Assistant Secretary of State Phyllis Oakley that the C.I.A.'s evidence on which the attack was based was inadequate. Ms. Oakley asked them to double-check; perhaps there was some intelligence they had not yet seen. The answer came back quickly: There was no additional evidence. Ms. Oakley called a meeting of key aides and a consensus emerged: Contrary to what the Administration was saying, the case tying Al Shifa to Mr. bin Laden or to chemical weapons was weak."To Bomb Sudan Plant, or Not: A Year Later, Debates Rankle The Chairman of El Shifa Pharmaceutical Industries, who is critical of the Sudanese government, more recently told reporters, "I had inventories of every chemical and records of every employee's history. There were no such gas chemicals being made here."Sudan shifts from pariah to partner Sudan has since invited the U.S. to conduct chemical tests at the site for evidence to support its claim that the plant might have been a chemical weapons factory; so far, the U.S. has refused the invitation to investigate. Nevertheless, the U.S. has refused to officially apologize for the attacks. Attack on camps in Afghanistan training camp in Zhawar Kili]] About 75 cruise missiles were fired by the U.S. into the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan at four Afghan training camps: *Al Farouq training camp *Muawai camp run by the Pakistani Harkat-ul-Mujahideen to train militants to fight Indian troops in KashmirRashid, Taliban (2000), p.134http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/hua.htm Harakat ul-Ansar (HUA) *Training camp in the Jarawah area near Khost *Zhawar Kili al-Badr which was directed by bin Laden, and known to be a meeting place for leaders.New York Times, August 27, 1998, p.A8Steve Coll (2005) Ghost Wars (paperback ed.) 409-10. Penguin: ISBN 0-14-303466-9. The attack was made partly in an attempt to assassinate bin Laden and other leaders.Coll, 410. After the attack, the CIA heard that bin Laden had been at Zhawar Kili al-Badr but had left some hours before the missiles hit.Coll, 411. The earlier arrest of Mohammed Odeh on August 7 while traveling to meet with Osama, is said to have alerted bin Laden, who canceled the meeting which meant that the camps targeted by the cruise missiles were mainly empty the day of the US strike.Gertz, Bill, "Inside The Ring: Missing bin Laden", Washington Times, September 18, 2008, pg. B1. According to Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid, 20 Afghans, seven Pakistanis, three Yemenis, two Egyptians, one Saudi and one Turk were killed. Abu Jandal later estimated that only six men had been killed in the strikes.Bergen, Peter. "The Osama bin Laden I Know", 2006 The only confirmed death in the strikes was Egyptian-Canadian Amr Hamed. Osama bin Laden jokingly told militants at the al-Jihad merger that only a few camels and chickens had died.Temple-Raston, Dina. "The Jihad Next Door", 2007. U.S. President Bill Clinton announced the attacks in a TV address, saying the Khost camp was "one of the most active terrorist bases in the world,"New York Times, August 22, 1998, p.A10 adding that "I want the world to understand that our actions today were not aimed against Islam" which he called "a great religion."New York Times, August 21, 1998, p.A8 Reaction * - Secretary-General Kofi Annan was "concerned over these developments and awaits further details." * - Prime Minister John Howard said the U.S. was entitled to respond to the East African embassy bombings. * - Thousands of anti-U.S. protesters took to the streets of Khartoum.Thousands stage anti-U.S. protest in Sudan, CNN, August 22, 1998 The minister of information of Sudan harshly condemned the attack on Khartoum and denounced Bill Clinton as a "proven liar" with "100 girlfriends".New York Times August 21, 1998, p.A13 President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir led an anti-U.S. rally and warned that his country "reserves the right to respond to the American attack using all necessary measures."Muslims, Yeltsin denounce attack, CNN, August 21, 1998 * - Prime Minister Tony Blair said he "strongly" supported the U.S. strikes. * - Cuba said that "President Clinton ignored the sovereignty of Sudan and Afghanistan and launched a theatrical bombardment which overshadowed his recent sex scandal." * - Chancellor Helmut Kohl said his government supported U.S. strikes. * - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he "welcomes the U.S. decision to strike targets of terrorists in Sudan and Afghanistan." * - Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi expressed his country's support for Sudan's efforts "in the fight against this aggression," and led an anti-U.S. rally in Tripoli. * - Pakistan denounced the U.S. missile strikes as a violation of the territorial integrity of two Islamic countries. * - President Boris Yeltsin condemned the U.S. action as "dishonorable" and said Washington "should have carried out negotiations to the end," but his spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky said that "Russia and the United States are in the same boat in everything that concerns the fight against world terrorism." * - "In retaliation", a group calling itself Muslims Against Global Oppression bombed a Planet Hollywood restaurant in Cape Town, South Africa on August 25, killing two and injuring 26.Explosion rips through Planet Hollywood in South Africa, CNN, August 25, 1998 * - Chechen Vice-President Vakha Arsanov said that by attacking Afghanistan and Sudan the United States had launched an "undeclared World War III", threatened to attack the Americans anywhere in the world, and that Clinton had been put on the "wanted list" for his crimes against the Islamic people and would be tried according to Sharia laws.Chechnya declares war on USA, PTI, Aug 23 1998 * said it was "ready to cooperate with any Arab and international countries to confront the U.S. hostile policies." * In Afghanistan the Taliban denounced the bombing as actually aimed at the Afghan people. The movement denied charges it provides a safe haven for bin Laden and insisted that the U.S. attack killed only innocent civilians. * Osama bin Laden pledged to attack the U.S. again. Ayman al-Zawahiri made a phone call to a Newsweek reporter, stating that "The war has only just begun; the Americans should now await the answer." Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower (2005), page 323. Vintage Books: ISBN 978-1-4000-3084-2 * Harkat-ul-Mujahideen also threatened to retaliate, saying "The Americans and Jews should now prepare for their destruction. The self-respecting Muslims of the world ... have announced they will wage a holy war against America." See also *List of military strikes against presumed terrorist targets References Actually Condoleezza Rice was likely referring to Operation Desert Fox, which was a massive bombing campaign of Iraq in December 1998, and completely different from Operation Infinite Reach in August 1998. In the interview Dr. Rice did not mention an operation code name or a month. Only that the Clinton Campaign had authorized bombing of Iraq following Clinton's signing of the Iraq Liberation Act. External links * U.S. missiles pound targets in Afghanistan, Sudan; Clinton: 'Our target was terror', CNN, August 21, 1998 * President Clinton's speech on the attacks, August 20, 1998 * President Clinton's speech after testifying to the Grand Jury , August 17, 1998 Category:1998 in Afghanistan Category:1998 in Sudan Category:Al-Qaeda Category:Counter-terrorism policy of the United States Category:Clinton administration controversies Category:Conflicts in 1998 Category:20th-century military history of the United States Category:Military operations involving the United States Category:Afghanistan–United States relations Category:Sudan–United States relations Category:Military operations post-1945 fr:Opération Infinite Reach pt:Operação Infinite Reach zh:无限延伸行动